Man pleads guilty to Marsh Oaks hit-and-run

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) – The man charged with several felonies relating to the hit-and-run in Marsh Oaks in 2015 appeared in New Hanover County Superior Court this morning.

Aaron Blake Williams pleaded guilty to four counts of assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, one count each of reckless driving, felonious hit and run and driving left of center. The prosecutor says there was no negotiated sentence for this plea.

The judge says Williams could face a maximum of more than 34 years in prison for all of these charges.

On October 10, 2015, Lacrosse coach Keith Hatcher, former head football coach Frank Meehan, his wife Maureen and Jeffrey West were hit as they walked along Marsh Oaks Drive around 2:00 a.m.

Prosecutors say the driver of that car, Aaron Blake Williams, called 911 and told dispatch he saw a green SUV hit group of people while they were walking on the side of the road. He said the driver kept going into the Marsh Oaks Drive neighborhood. Prosecutors say this was an attempt to thrown them off his trail.

This afternoon, after hearing from both the victim’s families and Williams’s parents, the judge sentenced Williams to 25- 42 months in prison and 60 months probation. 10 months of special probation.